Law & Order Special Victims Unit s08e03 Episode Script

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as The Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Going for the river.
Hey, there he goes! Watch out! Heard you two ran a marathon.
Yeah, sure.
The perp won.
We lost him.
Dispatch has your crime scene down on John street.
First I want you to check out these cars.
Which cars? The Jag and the Chevy.
Our boy was hiding between.
He wasn't wearing gloves.
I'll dust for prints.
Was the suspect armed? Not sure, never got that close to him.
Any word on the victim? She's at downtown hospital moving on her own steam.
Rape kit's done.
They're just checking her for internal injuries.
What did he do to her? Nikki? These detectives are from the special victims unit.
Hi, Nikki.
Can we come in? I'm detective Stabler.
This is my partner, detective Beck.
Why me? Why did he do this to me? We're gonna take care of you, Nikki.
The first thing we're gonna do is get you some clothes, okay? - How's Nikki? - Comfortable.
Waiting for yours truly to find her a ginger ale in this dump.
How bad? She told the doc M to P, P to V.
M to P? Mouth to penis.
P to V Get it.
You usually catch these perps? Well, most rapes, the women know their attacker, so those become he said/she said cases.
Those are the toughest to prove what actually happened.
What about serial rapists? We had 11 working Manhattan last year.
We collared seven.
Two by accident.
They were just cold DNA hits on guys in the system already.
You ready? Ready? To interview the victim while it's still fresh in her head.
I've collared a few rapists who were wanted on other charges.
Why don't I hit the computer and see if CRIMS has anyone with our guy's M.
O.
and an active warrant? Good idea.
What happened next, Nikki? He he made me get on my knees and and go down on him.
And then he told me to pull down my pants and and slammed me up against the wall, and raped me from behind.
Did he do anything when he was done? He, uh he wiped me down with those wet naps that have alcohol in them.
- Anything at the crime scene? - Nothing.
CSU couldn't find hairs, fibers, or any of the trash from those wipes.
How about what he looked like? I think he was older like like in his 40s.
Could you describe him to one of our artists? Yeah.
I'll try.
But it was dark.
I, I saw something on his hand though.
What was on his hand? A scar.
It looked like, uh, like a capital L, but with the bottom line going the wrong way.
First precinct just called.
No sign of him.
Probably hopped on a subway.
You shut the door? - Everything okay? - Well, you tell me.
How's she doing out there? Great.
We were totally in synch chasing down the perp.
Word on her is that she's a pro.
Maybe too much of one.
I'm hearing her CO in Warrants dumped her.
For what? Being overzealous.
Average collars per month for a Warrants detective is 8.
She's bringing in 12, 13 perps.
Right, and making everybody else look bad.
That's not overzealous.
That's talent.
Going through the wrong door and roughing up some innocent civilian doesn't show talent.
Now, it's only rumor, and I don't know the circumstances, but until I find out otherwise, you keep an eye on her.
Excuse me, captain.
Am I interrupting? Not at all.
You got something? Oh, yeah.
I spoke to O'Halloran.
CSU hit pay dirt on the prints off the Jaguar.
Barry Cole, 32.
Did a nickel at Fishkill for a push-in robbery.
Which turned into an assault.
Last known address Brooklyn.
Go get him.
It's two blocks away.
- The city pay for that thing? - No, I did.
But it's worth every penny.
It's my contacts, email, internet, maps, you name it.
- You should get one.
- No, thanks.
My kids had to help me program the speed dial on my cell phone.
No way.
What's that accent? European or something? I was born in Denmark.
I came here after I got married.
Your husband from Denmark? No, from here.
But he was stationed in Germany when he was in the military, and we met when I was studying there.
What happened to your partner? Olivia got pulled for an undercover job.
How long were you together? Seven years.
How long were you in Warrants? Three and a half.
Just had enough? It's up here.
Turn left.
Look under the door.
Who the hell is it? Police! How many? Wait a minute.
I gotta put something on.
I need you to open that door now.
Okay! What do you want at this hour? Barry Cole? He's not here.
I haven't seen him.
Mind if we come on in, take a look? Just make it quick 'cause I gotta work in the morning.
I gotta get some sleep.
Did Barry do something wrong? Who sleeps here? I fell asleep watching TV.
Stabler! It's still warm.
Someone was just sleeping here.
Ophelia, you're lying.
Where is he? He's running! Take the front.
Got it! Come on! Come on, get up.
Barry Cole, you're under arrest for rape.
Rape? I didn't rape anybody.
Impact baton, huh? You should lose the sports jacket and shoes.
They slow you down.
If you wanna see me, you two people, you sure take me to the hospital.
Shut up! - Hey, great work on those prints.
- Thanks.
- Hey, uh, you got a second? - Yeah.
Your collar.
I'll get them both.
Come on, sweetheart.
Did she, uh, tell you anything about our conversation last night? Just that you got a match on Barry Cole.
Why? Because I told her I wasn't done processing all the prints when she called.
You're saying it's not Barry? The Jaguar we found his prints on was a rental.
So I called the rental agency.
Barry works there processing cars.
Okay, so he borrowed one to do the rape.
/ I don't think so.
The only place I found his prints were on the passenger side window.
Our guy was hiding next to the driver's side.
Also, your guy was probably crouched like this.
Touching the car to keep his balance like this.
Did you find that pattern on the Jag? Ten perfect fingertips.
- In the system? - He's not in AFIS.
He doesn't have a criminal record.
But he's in the state system.
Name's Martin Trenway.
Printed back in '77 when he became assistant district attorney here in Manhattan.
Did you tell her that? Sure, I called her back, but, you know, Barry Cole's got a record.
So she thought he looked good for it.
Hey, whoa, I don't want to cause any problems.
You just saved our asses.
Detective Beck.
Something wrong? Cut him loose.
- Cut him loose why? - You know damn well why.
Barry had a record.
I thought he was the best lead.
But he wasn't the only lead.
Now if you'd only listen to O'Halloran, we wouldn't have spent the night chasing our tails instead of looking for this guy.
Cut him loose before the captain finds out.
Who's the piano player? A lawyer.
Used to be an ADA.
Law Offices of Martin Trenway 53 Water Street Tuesday, September 19 How can I help you, detectives? We're here about the Jaguar you rented.
I don't remember getting any parking tickets.
A car by the same description was used in a robbery in Brooklyn yesterday.
One of our officers spotted yours in a parking lot under the FDR drive.
Called it in.
You don't think I committed the crime, do you? Well, sir, you know how it is.
We get the call You have to check it out.
Yeah, of course.
Well, I, uh, I rented the car yesterday afternoon to go to Jersey for a deposition.
You came back to the office afterward? Around 6 in the evening.
Oh, I have a receipt from the toll at the Holland tunnel if you want to see it.
No, that won't be necessary.
I think we've taken up enough of your time.
Oh, not at all.
Glad to oblige.
Carpal tunnel? Uh, no, just busted my wrist playing basketball.
Teach me to set a pick against my 17-year-old son, huh? Typical trial lawyer.
Has an answer for everything.
I just want to see if he's got a backwards L- shaped scar underneath that brace of his.
I don't need to.
The composite Nikki West gave us looks a lot like him.
Yeah, it looks a lot like Trenway.
And probably 10,000 other white guys who live in the city.
leave their prints on that Jag.
Yes, but Martin Trenway is one of the biggest personal injury attorneys in town.
So if we're gonna accuse him, we gotta make sure we have our ducks in a row.
What do we know about Trenway personally? Douglaston, Cardoso high school, college at Cornell, Duke law school.
Married to the same woman for 30 years.
Two teenage sons.
Lives in Stanford, Connecticut.
Keeps a pied-terre one block from Gracie mansion.
And he's never been in trouble with the law.
He's a lawyer.
He knows how to hide evidence like our rapist.
He's got his M.
O.
down cold.
Middle-aged men don't suddenly become rapists out of the blue.
Well, there are rare cases.
High functioning men like Trenway sometimes have a history of psychosexual problems like addictions to pornography and violence that they've managed to keep under wraps.
Let's put Trenway in a lineup.
That's risky.
I think we lucked out with the sketch.
Nikki said that she didn't get a good look at him.
But she did get a good look at his hand.
Are you ready? I guess so.
Gentlemen, make a fist.
Keep your hand still.
Thank you, gentlemen.
You're arresting me because of a scar on my hand? Do you know how many people have one just like mine? Where's it from? Tendon transfer surgery from when I broke my wrist.
You know what? I want to remind you again that you have the right to have an attorney present.
I am attorney.
I know my rights.
I didn't do anything! Where were you last night around 11? My office, working late.
Okay, think about this.
What time did you leave? Around midnight.
You can check the security logs of the building.
We did.
We also checked with the security guard on duty.
He said you left at 9:45 and told him not to bother putting it in the book.
I stepped out to grab a bite.
He said you were gone till around 11.
Funny that the rape and the chase happened all around the same time.
How many men are out on a street in that area at that hour, hmm? It's doesn't matter.
We've got you.
Show him the photos.
Only one man hid behind this car and left his fingerprints.
That'd be you.
Come on! I dropped my briefcase when I got back from Jersey.
It popped open.
Some papers flew out.
I I guess I must've touched the car when I bent down to get them.
Not like this you didn't.
You're going to arraignment.
Trenway's got a lot of friends in there and no priors.
There's no way he was getting remanded.
Right, but $25,000 bail? That's a joke.
Maybe he'll do another rape between now and the trial.
Where you going? Hey, guys.
You want a story? I got a story for you.
Martin Trenway, the big PI lawyer, right over there, just got charged with rape.
- Still rolling? - Set.
- Mr.
Trenway.
- Mr.
Trenway, can we have a second? Is it true you've been charged with rape? Yes, yes, yes, but it is clearly a case of mistaken identity.
Do you have anything else to say? When do the police say it happened? Hand lineup was a good idea.
Trenway's right, though.
A lot of people probably have that same scar.
I'm detective Tutuola.
You don't want to talk to me.
This is the detective that got his mug on the front page.
Detective Beck, this is Heather Stark.
- She'd like to say thank you.
- I knew when I saw the pictures You don't have to say anything.
I was just doing my job.
But but I remember him.
I'm detective Stabler.
Hi.
You recognize that man? Five years ago, I was going into a subway station on 104th and Broadway when a man knocked me into a parked car.
I fell and something hit me in the head like he kicked me.
What happened next? He opened the car and pushed me into the back seat.
And then he hit me again.
Do you remember what kind of car it was? - No.
- Okay.
He knocked me out, because when I woke up, we were in some abandoned lot.
He had a knife.
He made me perform oral sex.
And he raped me.
What happened afterwards? He made me get out of the car.
And he took off.
And somehow I found my way to a gas station.
Turned out he drove me to Long Island city.
Now, why are you so sure Martin Trenway is the man who raped you? We were in the car.
He tried to rape me from behind.
But he was too tall, so he got on top of me.
He told me to close my eyes, but I didn't.
So When I saw this picture, I started to shake.
I know it's him.
I'll never forget his face.
Is there somebody I can call for you? Yeah, my friend Melissa would be a good person.
Oh, my god.
- Is that me? - John, this is Heather.
She needs someplace private to make a phone call.
My pleasure.
What are you doing? That woman just relived the worst experience of her life.
She doesn't need to see the way she looked that night.
Her case file's right there.
How'd you get it so fast? It was a Queens SVU case.
They're swamped, so they let us have it.
We watched you interview Heather.
The rapist's M.
O.
is very close to Nikki West's.
Check out the composites.
Either of them could be Trenway.
Heather's interview five years ago reads word for word with what she just told me.
She's consistent.
Well, the defense will still argue her ID of Trenway was improper.
Oh, because she picked him out of the newspaper instead of a photo lineup.
We may not need an ID.
Heather's clothes and rape kit were inventoried with fluids present.
DNA wouldn't have been processed back then unless they had a suspect.
All the case evidence is at the property clerk in Queens.
Statute of limitations is up in four days on this one.
Get a warrant on Trenway's DNA.
Find that evidence.
NYPD Property Clerk Warehouse Queens, New York Thursday, September 21 The log says that file number should be right here.
Well, it's not here, so where do we look next? It could be anywhere.
Place leaks so bad, we had to move stuff around.
You mean you lost it? It's not lost.
Sometimes it just takes a while to find it.
So find it.
I got two dozen cases ahead of you.
- Could take a couple of weeks.
- We don't have a couple of weeks.
This one doesn't get found, we got a rapist who goes out on the street.
You're on the list.
No wonder they took your gun and stuck you in this hellhole.
Screw you, lady.
Now, you can find it yourself.
Someone should've fired that idiot.
So you got any friends who can undo the mess you just made in there? The mess I just made? Look, the guy may be a loser, but bullying him doesn't help us.
So what are you saying? I'm saying you're running around half-cocked like you're still yanking bail jumpers off the street.
It's about getting inside people's heads.
Your problem is every perp smells the same to you.
Yeah, they do.
Well, they're not.
They're not the same.
You got Trenway.
He's a lawyer.
You get him in the box, you work him.
You don't get in his face.
And you don't turn your back on the victims.
Like you did with Heather Stark.
Trial Part 46 Monday, September 25 Heather, can you please describe the injuries your attacker inflicted upon you in addition to the rape? He fractured my skull.
Broke my nose and my right eye socket.
My whole face was a mess.
I needed plastic surgery.
Do you know who did this to you? Yes.
Martin Trenway.
He's sitting right over there.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
Ms.
Stark, you testified that you were sure that Mr.
Trenway raped you because you recognized him from the newspapers.
That's correct.
The article printed after he had been arrested for another rape.
Yes.
How often do you read the paper? Every day.
Any one in particular? The Ledger.
You're aware that Mr.
Trenway is a very well-known attorney in town.
Yes, I am.
So it wouldn't surprise you to hear that he'd been in the newspaper before he was accused of rape.
No, it wouldn't.
Do you know how many times Mr.
Trenway's picture was in the Ledger in the five years since you were attacked? No, sir, I don't.
So since you read the Ledger every day, you had to have seen my client's face before.
Objection.
Calls for speculation.
I'll withdraw the question.
Ms.
Stark isn't it possible you recognized my client because you'd seen him in the paper previously, not because he attacked you? I was looking at him the entire time he was raping me.
I know it's him.
Then why didn't you call the police one of the other 22 times you saw his face in the paper? I, I I don't know.
No further questions.
Eyewitness testimony is the least reliable of all evidence.
As an expert in the field, Dr.
Polk, I'm sure that you can cite studies to back that up.
Dozens of them.
But the best proof comes from the real world.
Of the first group of murderers and rapists whose convictions were overturned by DNA evidence, more than 80% were found guilty based on mistaken eyewitness testimony.
Now, wait a minute.
How is that possible, doctor? Most jurors believe that human memory works like a videotape.
That our minds play back an event exactly as it was recorded.
So when Ms.
Stark says five years after she was raped that she is sure beyond any doubt that Mr.
Trenway attacked her, is she lying? Absolutely not.
She's telling the truth as she believes she remembers it.
But her memory of that horrible event can always be changed by suggestion, whether intentional or not.
Like a suggestion in a newspaper article, naming my client as a defendant in another rape case.
Yes.
Nothing further.
People's seven, your honor.
This is a composite based on a description Heather Stark gave detectives the night she was attacked five years ago.
Help.
Do you think it looks like Martin Trenway? Well, yes, it could be him, but the fact that he's sitting a few feet away is very suggestive, though.
Yes, but we've heard testimony that for seven hours after Heather Stark was raped and beaten, she was first hospitalized, poked, prodded, photographed, sutured, cleaned up, and interviewed by the police.
And yet after all that, after all the possible suggestion that she might have been influenced by, she still gave a description of her attacker that even you agree resembles the defendant.
Dr.
Polk, taking into account the trauma that she experienced, and given her accuracy then and her confidence now, isn't is possible Ms.
Stark correctly identified Mr.
Trenway as her attacker? Yes.
Thank you, doctor.
We'll pick up again after lunch.
Tell me that you guys are here because you found it.
It's already at the M.
E.
's being processed.
I gotta get the results in on rebuttal.
Not so fast.
There might be a problem.
The rape kit and clothing at one time had been wet.
That caused mold to grow on the biological material.
So it's no good? We lucked out.
Got a couple of DNA markers suitable for comparison.
Okay, and? - I have definitive proof.
- We got him.
I wish.
These results aren't even close.
Martin Trenway could not have raped Heather Stark.
The whole time he was raping me I was staring right in his face so that I could remember everything about him.
This is wrong.
It's gotta be wrong.
The DNA can't be wrong, Heather.
Ms.
Stark, listen, I Get the hell away from me! Detectives.
Counselor.
How, how could I be so sure about this and be wrong? It's gotta be a mistake, don't you think? Heather, I'm sorry.
Another man did this to you.
Now, we'll run the DNA through the system.
If he's been arrested for any crime anywhere, we'll get him.
It's too late now.
I'm sorry.
She's right.
Even if we find whoever raped her, the statute of limitations has run out.
She never gets justice.
Hope we get some for Nikki West.
We've got Trenway.
If he's the man who attacked her.
It is him.
No alibi, the ID of his hand, the fingerprints on his car.
We put him on trial now, we make him a martyr.
He's already the poster boy for mistaken identity.
- Well, what more do you need? - Short of a confession? Another victim who will testify Trenway raped her.
We already went back five years.
Didn't find anything.
Novak wants us to go back further.
Find someone she can put on the stand as a Molineux witness to swear Trenway raped her.
You know, show that he'd done it before.
I don't even know why there is a statute of limitations on rape anymore now that we have DNA.
To prevent eyewitnesses like Heather Stark from accusing the wrong person.
- What time she get here? - She never left.
Some people shouldn't be allowed to drink coffee.
Dani, what is this? Trenway.
I got him.
Yeah, how? There were 14 unsolved beatings and rapes upstate in Ithaca from 1970 to 1974, the same years Trenway went to college there.
The cops said that the attacks stopped at exactly the time Trenway left for law school at Duke.
Okay, let me guess.
The police in North Carolina handled a similar string of rapes that started right about that same time.
From August of '74 to May of '77.
All unsolved.
But I think we'll find more of Trenway's work closer to home.
How do you figure? Well, Trenway rented that Jaguar to go see a client in Jersey, right? He lives in Connecticut and He could've been raping women all over the tri-state area for years.
But we'd never know, because nobody shares information across jurisdictions.
Right, now, Trenway grew up in Queens, Douglaston.
So I pulled all the unsolved cases from 1967 to 1970 when he was a teenager.
No rapes with his M.
O.
But there were two assaults in his neighborhood.
One, the victim was a guy, so we can discard that.
The other was a woman assaulted in her house.
Lorraine Delmas, 32.
Broken nose, cheek bone, jaw bone.
Where have I heard that before? Or seen it.
These photos could be carbon copies of Nikki West.
That woman would be in her 70s if she's still alive.
I think she is.
What makes you think that? I've seen this face.
Home of Lorraine Delmas Douglaston, New York Thursday, September 28 Mrs.
Delmas.
Miss Delmas.
I'm detective Stabler.
This my partner, detective Beck.
I saw you in court two days ago.
In the gallery.
Please come in.
I assume you are here to ask me about Marty.
How long have you known him? Ever since he was a boy.
His mother and I were best friends.
You must've been shocked when he was accused of assaulting those women.
It was nice you came to court to support him.
I wanted to see what would happen.
So you were pleased that the charges were dropped? Yes.
How did you meet Marty's mother? Oh, Marie and I were little girls together.
We grew up in the same town.
In France.
St.
Remy de Provence.
She met and married her husband there, James.
And James' brother fell in love with me, and I moved here to be with him.
But you never married.
We, we broke up after Marie died.
Did you stay in touch with Marty? On her deathbed, she made me promise to take care of him.
What about his father? After his mother died, Marty became a very difficult child.
He couldn't communicate with his father.
So he spent most of his time here with me.
You were close.
- Yes.
- Miss Delmas Please call me Lorraine.
Lorraine Why were you sitting so far away from Marty in court? Oh, we haven't spoken for nearly 40 years.
Did something happen? Marty went away to college.
We, we just lost touch.
Do you remember, uh, was that before or after you were attacked in your home? I'd rather not talk about that.
I understand it brings back painful memories.
Lorraine, I read the police reports from that night.
Whoever hurt you didn't break in.
Did you know the man who attacked you? Well it happened so long ago.
You know, people in those days weren't afraid to open their doors.
Would you take me home please now? Would you like something to eat before you go? Why is she protecting him? She's fulfilling the promise she made to Trenway's mother.
No, I don't think that's it.
She want to court to see Trenway finally get justice.
Well, if that's what she wants, why won't she talk? 'Cause she's ashamed.
She's not going to talk to a man.
May I come in? It's so hot in here.
I brought some water.
I'll get some glasses.
I'm going to pour you some water now.
Please have a seat.
St.
Remy de Provence isn't far from Avignon, right? Yes.
/ Because I spent my summers there with my parents when I was a child.
Oh, so that is why you speak French.
Yes, that's why.
You must be tired.
A little bit.
You shouldn't be ashamed.
Ashamed of what? Of what he did to you.
Did he rape you? No, no I can't talk about it It's OK, Madame.
Four years ago, my husband, who was a policeman was murdered.
And for a long time, I couldn't talk about it either.
But once I did I felt much better.
Nobody should have to live with this.
I promised his mother.
Yeah, and you kept that promise.
You helped him.
And now you have to help yourself.
I didn't want to get him in trouble.
I forced myself to forget.
I pretended that nothing had happened.
But you keep it inside of you.
It eats you up.
My fiance tried to help me but I couldn't tell him anything.
So finally, he left.
After that, I knew that no man would ever want me.
Did Marty attack you that night? It's okay.
You don't have to protect him anymore.
Yes, it was Marty.
I didn't want to say it.
It was Marty.
Evidentiary Hearing Part 46 Monday, October 2 He was very upset when he came over that night.
He wouldn't, he wouldn't tell me why.
He asked for a soda, and I went into the kitchen to get it.
I was looking into the refrigerator when I was hit from behind.
Knocked to the floor.
It was Marty.
He was hitting and hitting and hitting.
You're lying! Why are you lying? You know it's true, Marty! You swore you wouldn't say anything! You grabbed that kitchen knife from the counter.
You made me pull down my pants and you raped me! Miss Delmas, Mr.
Trenway.
Why didn't you tell the police that you had been raped? Because I was because I was single.
I was engaged to be married.
And I was so embarrassed, so ashamed.
I didn't know what my fiance would do if he found out.
And Marty was family.
Your honor, we submit that miss Delmas' testimony meets the standard of people vs.
Molineux to present to the jury as proof that Martin Trenway has raped before.
Miss Delmas I am deeply sorry about the horror you experienced.
I am equally sorry that we can never try Martin Trenway for what he did to you.
But this is an evidentiary hearing, not a trial.
And because it happened so long ago, and there is no proof to support your testimony, I cannot allow this testimony under Molineux on the grounds that it would be unfairly prejudicial against the defendant.
Your honor I buried it.
Miss Delmas? I buried it just like I buried my memories.
After Marty left that night, I took off all the clothes I was wearing and stuffed them in a box.
There's a place in the basement between the beams.
I hid the box there so that I would never see it again.
And I didn't.
Not for 40 years.
Until I read in the newspapers that Marty had raped a girl.
I knew it had to be true.
The DNA on Lorraine's clothes is a match.
Martin Trenway raped Nikki West.
I blamed myself.
Marty was only 15.
He had his whole life ahead of him.
So I made myself forget what he had done.
Maybe if I had spoken up, he could've been helped.
And maybe he would not have harmed this young lady.
I am so sorry.
Trenway pleads guilty to raping Nikki.
He names all the other victims he can remember, and in return, I recommend the maximum sentence.
Not long enough.
Trenway agreed to it? He's waving the white flag.
He knows it's all over.
What does all that mean? It means when and if he gets out of prison, he'll be too old to rape anybody.
Miss Delmas, how can I ever repay you? Move on.
Live your life.
Don't lock yourself away the way I did.
Merci.
Merci.